Former Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Michael Boyd has died from cancer. He was 68.
In a statement, his family said that under Boyd’s leadership, the RSC “enjoyed consistent artistic success and a busy box-office. He recognised that the commercial and international success of Les Misérables, which had been such an integral part of the RSC’s income, was waning.
“With dramaturg Jeanie O’Hare, he began the development of Matilda the Musical, initially commissioning writer Dennis Kelly and then inviting Matthew Warchus and Tim Minchin to complete the creative team. He championed the musical throughout its development, and its success continues to provide financial stability for the company.”
Current RSC co-artistic directors Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans said, “Michael’s tenure and work were hugely inspiring and influential. His vision and leadership are still deeply felt in the company and in the wider world of British and international theatre. We are humbled to walk in his footsteps.”
Gregory Doran, RSC artistic director emeritus, added, “Michael was a deeply generous collaborator who unfailingly and without hesitation celebrated and nurtured the ‘genius’ (as he would say) of those creative talents he gathered to the company, ensuring that the RSC was a genuine ensemble.
“He promoted the work of the education department, about which he was passionate, applied his rigour to restoring the financial health of the company with an almost puritanical zeal and brilliantly transformed our stages.
“Among the many exceptional productions he directed, the crowning glory was without doubt his History Cycle, fostered over many years, and climaxing at the Roundhouse in 2008. I will always be grateful for the support he showed me personally. He was himself a quiet, unassuming genius.”
Former RSC deputy chair Susie Sainsbury commented, “the loss of Michael Boyd is one that will be felt throughout the world of theatre.
“His time at the RSC was marked by the boldness of his programming. When asked why he wanted to do the Complete Works Festival, he said simply, ‘because we can’. He will be missed terribly and our thoughts go to Caroline and the family.”
Boyd’s career took him from training in Moscow to artistic directorships at the Tron Theatre Glasgow from 1985 to 1996 and the RSC after joining as an associate director.
When he took over as artistic director of the RSC in July 2002, the company had just left the Barbican as its London home, and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre was about to be demolished and rebuilt. He knew the company needed radical change and more secure financial fortunes. It was a turning point in the company’s history.
He set about realising a long-standing artistic ambition to create an ensemble of actors working together over two to three years, with long rehearsal periods that allowed for a deeper understanding of the text and a rigorous programme of daily voice and movement classes to strengthen the ensembles’ individual and collective artistry.
The statement continues, “over six years as an associate director and 10 years as artistic director, his honesty, kindness and tenacity inspired love, loyalty and admiration from those who worked alongside him.
“Being artistic director of the RSC is a consuming role that Michael committed to wholeheartedly; at the same time, he was even more committed to us, his family. We are in awe of what he achieved as a theatre artist and incredibly grateful to be loved and nurtured by such a wonderful father and husband. We are heartbroken to have lost him so soon.”